"EU, funds of hundreds of billions of euros in one year" - The defense commissioner emphasizes the need for investments in the military sector
Europe must find a way within the next year to finance hundreds of billions of euros in extra military spending to defend against any attack by Russia by the end of the decade, the European Union's new defense commissioner said.
Andrius Kubilius, the former prime minister of Lithuania who has just become the European Commission's first defense chief, told Reuters in an interview that Europe needed a "big bang" of additional funding and arms purchases.
Donald Trump's return to the White House and the United States' growing focus on China have also raised concerns in Europe that Washington will be less willing to help protect the bloc in the coming years.
There is broad agreement that Europe should spend more on defence, but EU countries have yet to agree where to find the money. Kubilius said a solution should be found next year, citing intelligence reports, such as that of Germany's spy chief, that Russia may be ready to attack a NATO country by the end of the decade at the latest. "Everything must be done before or around 2030," he said. "We cannot ask President Putin to delay his plans until we are ready."
Putin has said that he has no intention of attacking other European countries. But such statements do not convince the continent's leaders, especially since Moscow made similar guarantees to Ukraine before annexing it in 2022.
The European Commission estimates that additional defense investments of around 500 billion euros are needed over the next decade. Some leaders have suggested issuing EU defense bonds, which could be paid for from the EU budget. But countries like Germany and the Netherlands are against it.
Kubilius floated the idea of borrowing against future national defense expenditures. He also added that using the European Stability Mechanism, which is the eurozone's bailout fund, or repurposing money from the Covid-19 recovery fund could be valid options.
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